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The rain began to pour, as you and Inkagi looked for a tree large enough to take cover. The moment you find a suitable tree thunder echoes across the jungle. A flash of lightning illuminates the sky. There was nothing you could do but sit under the tree and wait for the rain to pass. You lost track of how many hours you've walked down the Mighty Mizian River to find Alaska.
You notice Pyro was at a distance keeping watch over you and Inkagi.
As another hour goes by your optimism turns on you. You become upset at yourself for not moving faster. Your feet are in pain from all the walking, but you ignore it for the sake of finding your friend. Although you spent most of your time arguing the moment you got into this world, you never wished her any ill will.
Inkagi notices your frustration as you rip some blades of grass out from the ground. To get your mind off the situation he asks you a question. "How did you and Alaska meet?"
You take a deep breath and stop ripping the grass for a moment. You look at Inkagi when you respond with sadness in your eyes. "Alaska and I met at summer camp," Inkagi looks at you with confusion on his face. You then realize why he was confused, "Well, it's a place where people in my world do activities and meet new people". Inkagi nods his head fascinatedly and imagines what humans in another world would look like judging by the clothing you and Alaska wear.
"We became good friends there," you stare at the ground while you think of the moments that lead to both of you being trapped in this prehistoric world. "We entered a cave while others from our group walked around in the forest. We didn't think much of it at the time. There were no adults around and we thought it would be fun to just explore a cave," you pause and smile for half a second, "we ended up getting lost in there." You take a deep breath.
"We lost track of time. It was disorienting. I remember… Every tunnel we took just looked the same. I don't know how long we were in that cave before we found this strange long tunnel. But when we did, we were both so relieved. We followed the light at the end of that tunnel until we finally reached the end. I thought we were saved, but then I realized we were in a different world. This world…" you gesture to your surroundings, "it's so different from what we've ever known."
Your voice trails off as you think about your friend, Alaska. "I don't know if she's okay. I don't even know if she's alive. But I'm not giving up on her. I have to find her. We need to find a way back home."
A tear came to your eye thinking about what happened before you found the long tunnel. "Before we fell, the cave's main path split in two. We had to make a choice. We ended up arguing. I wanted to go left, and she insisted on going right. I got so upset with her that I… I pushed her," With your hand, you wipe the tear that was rolling down your face.
You pause for a moment, trying to find the right words. You start to feel your breathing quicken, and your heart palpitates rapidly, "I pushed her because I was angry, not at her, I was angry with myself for convincing her to enter that stupid cave with me. I regretted it the moment I did it. I tried to apologize but she didn't give me a chance to speak. I guess to her it seemed like I was upset at her because she didn't want to listen to my suggestions. But at that moment, she was so stubborn, and I don't blame her. I don't want to feel that way again."
"What did you both decide on?"
"I told her that we could choose the right path. Even though we did, I only did it because I didn't want her to be angry at me anymore. And after we fell down that hole. I got so upset. At the time my opinion of her was changing. When you're in a difficult situation you finally see the ugly side of people. Especially when they are in their most desperate state. My mind was exhausted, frustrated, and angry. I felt like it was all her fault that we fell deeper into that cave in the first place, but I didn't want to feel like that because I knew that going into the cave was all my idea."
"You feel as much guilt as I do," Inkagi looks at the rain falling, "We all make mistakes. The most important thing is forgiveness – both forgiving ourselves and forgiving others. Otherwise, we'll just end up holding onto that anger forever," Inkagi pauses as lightning lights up the sky, "We need to keep our spirits up. And not become bitter over the situation. Frustration will not solve our problems. Keeping our minds clear and focused will." You nod, agreeing with him.
Once the rain passes, the skies became blue again. When you try to get up you notice that your shirt is stuck to the red tree you were lying next to. You start to notice that the jungle is full of these trees that have dark red bark, most of them covered in very gunky thick sap.
Inkagi notices you struggling with the tree. "It's the sap. You must try your best to rip it off yourself. The red trees produce a very powerful sticky sap."
"I can see that. It's very annoying to remove." Inkagi brings over some water. And using the water you were both able to remove the sticky sap off your shirt.
You proceed quickly down the riverbank but end up finding a split in the flow of the river. "Left or right." You say with frustration on your face. You scratch your head and look toward each direction trying to analyze what would be the best choice.
"It's getting late, and we haven't seen Alaska yet. We've been walking for a very long time." Inkagi sighs seeing no end in sight, "The reason they call this river 'mighty' is because of how long this river goes." Inkagi turns and faces you. "Look, there is no easy way of saying this," there was a concerned look on his face. "There is a chance that Shintiro caught up with her."
"No…" You say instantly trying to deny it.
"Listen to me. He also fell into the river."
You were both getting hungry and tired, and your options just became more complex. Even if you made the right choice, there was also that possibility that Shintiro found her and was holding her captive to get your red Guardian Stone.
Making the wrong choice could mean life or death for Alaska. You both took the time, with a clear mind, to see what the right choice would be, left or right.
You spoke first, "I'd say we go left."
Inkagi then spoke immediately after you, "I choose right." You both look at each other wondering what to do.
You're both exhausted from the constant hours of walking, and the sun is starting to set. Alaska's safety is on the line, and you know that making the wrong choice could mean life or death for her. The thought of losing your friend weighs heavily on your mind.
You take a deep breath and try to clear your mind of all distractions. The choice of which direction to go feels enormous, but you're determined to figure it out. Alaska's life depends on it.
You both look at each other, trying to come to a decision. The stakes are high, and the consequences of choosing the wrong direction could be devastating. But you both know that you need to act quickly before it's too late.
Alaska was wide awake. She had the energy to move her body. "Are you Shintiro? Please, don't hurt me."
"Shintiro?" The mysterious figure spoke as it got closer to her. Alaska could hear the snarl of an animal before he spoke again, "I haven't heard that name in years." The voice was deep and authoritative. She heard Shintiro speak before, the voice she just heard was nothing like his, even though she only heard him speak a few words.
Once in the light, she could see him. She lifts her body because she became startled at the sight of a large talking alligator. "I have to be dreaming!"
"You're not dreaming. My name now is Ruogdrik meaning 'banished one'. I used to be known as Ruog."
Alaska couldn't believe it. Her heart was racing as she stared at this human-like alligator. And on top of that, it was talking to her.
Suddenly the pain in her leg once again surged through her whole body. She gives up and drops all her weight back to the ground. She screams out in pain.
Ruog spoke to her, "Careful child. You mustn't move too much. Avoid putting pressure on your right leg. It is still recovering. You also came down with a fever. I managed to use some herbs from the jungle to remedy your ailments."
"How… How long was I out Mr. Ruog?"
"There's no need to call me, what did you say? Mister Ruog? I just go by the name Ruog," he walks over to the log he sits on and makes himself comfortable, "and you've been out for three days."
"Three days?" Alaska takes a deep breath in disbelief, "I need to find my friends."
"I didn't see anyone with you. You were on the side of the riverbank all alone. You were unconscious and your leg was in bad shape. I was going to leave you there," Ruog pauses, "But… I couldn't turn a blind eye."
After the shock of talking to a talking alligator wears off, Alaska responds in a soft low voice "Thank you." Alaska looks at the flames of the fire next to her, keeping her warm. "What made you change your mind? You don't even know me."
"My whole life I've helped others in my village, without hesitation. But when it came time for them to help me, they turned their backs on me. I was alone. However, I've never let that change who I am. For a time, I became bitter. But when I saw you, I couldn't do it, I couldn't let you die out there."
Alaska grew curious about what had happened to Ruog. "What happened to you? Who turned their backs on you?"
Ruog coughs and gets up quickly. "I'm in no mood right now to discuss this with a stranger. There is fresh water next to you and the bowl right next to it has some Nactu berries. I suggest you get plenty of rest. Have a good slumber." As he steps out again, he pops his head out and asks. "Child, what is your name by the way?"
"Oh, I'm so rude. Sorry. The whole talking alligator thing, umm. I mean my name is Alaska."
"Alaska. Unique. Yes. Never heard of such a name. Well, like I said, get plenty of rest." Ruog leaves and Alaska is left staring at the flames of the fire.
As you and Inkagi think about your next course of action, you hear something in the distance. It sounded like calls. You could hear them echoing through the trees. Something wasn't right.
Inkagi spoke first, "Did you hear that?"
Your heart begins to race as your mind goes wild with ideas of what it could be, "Yeah, I hear it."
"We need to run, now!" Inkagi pulls on your arm, and you start to follow. Pyro was nowhere to be seen when you look back.
"Inkagi! Wait a minute!" You followed him with great speed, only trailing behind by a few steps. But you wanted an explanation of what exactly was going on. However, at that moment there was no time to stop and explain things. All you knew was that you had to run.
You were exhausted and fearful, your adrenaline coursing through your veins as you stumbled over roots and dodged low-hanging branches. It was getting dark out and the sun was setting. The mysterious calls echoed through the trees once again and the shadows of these unknown creatures loomed large in the flickering starlight.
As the sun slowly disappeared each step suddenly became difficult to see. Just when you thought you had escaped, you tripped over a hidden root and fell to the ground, your heart racing as you heard the heavy footsteps drawing closer. Inkagi tried to help you up, but he too lost his footing and fell to the ground next to you. Handmade spears emerged from the darkness of the foliage around you. They held the spears tightly in front of their bodies, pointing them toward you and Inkagi. You dare not move.
The human-like apes surrounded you, growling and snarling, their eyes glowing in the darkness. You and Inkagi exchanged terrified glances, knowing that you were completely at their mercy. And that's when it hit you. Inkagi knew that the ape civilization was on this side of the river.
Inkagi gulped and with fear in his voice said to you, "It's the ape civilization."230Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu45pHvAm25
